Podium chair



April 12, 1966 J. A. WENGER 3,245,720

PODIUM CHAIR Filed Dec. 18, 1963 United States Patent 3,245,720 PODIUM CHAIR Jerry A. Wenger, 118 W. Rose St., Owatonna, Minn. Filed Dec. 18, 1963, Ser. No. 331,539 4 Claims. (Cl. 297-423) This invention is a podium chair. It is novel in combining into a single unit an elevated practice chair for a conductor of a musical organization and a podium integrated with the chair and on which the conductor may stand from time to time to relieve muscle fatigue otherwise resulting from remaining in a sitting position a substantial period of time.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of this invention to provide an improved combination podium and conductors practice chair.

A further object of this invention is to make an improved conductors practice chair and podium in which the unit is easily moved to a desired position in front of a musical organization or removed therefrom selectively and at the same time is automatically stable and secure when in use.

It is another object of this invention to make a conductors practice chair and podium that is safe.

Other and further objects of the invention are those inherent and apparent in the apparatus as described, pictured and claimed.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, this invention then comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims, the following description setting forth in detail certain illustrative embodiments of the invention, these being indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of the invention may be employed.

The invention will be described with reference to the drawings in which corresponding numerals refer to the same parts and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of the invention with broken lines illustrating hidden parts; and

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary front elevation of the podium chair support in a different position.

Referring first to FIGURE 1 of the drawings, a vertical post 10, which is preferably hollow, has radiating legs such as those illustrated at 12 and 14 extending therefrom. The free ends of the legs terminate in friction reducing means such as the glides 16 and 18. These engage any suitable supporting surface such as the floor represented at 20.

A podium frame 22 is secured at one side of the vertical post and additionally supported by means of the U-brace 24 extending between and below the legs 12 and 14. A chair back and seat assembly 26 is secured to the vertical post 10 in any conventional manner so as to make the height of the chair seat and back assembly adjustable. A convenient way is to have the chair seat and back assembly secured to a post 28 that fits telescopically inside the vertical post 10 with any suitable clamping arrangement such as the hand wheel set screw 30 for frictionally clamping the post 28 within vertical post 10.

Any suitable platform means such as the one 32 is secured to the podium frame 22 and as here shown is a piece of sheet metal having extending members or projections that are at least partially formed to embrace the shape of the material forming frame 22 as seen at 34. These members or projections from platform 32 that engage the frame 22 are secured thereto by conventional means such as welding for example.

In FIGURE 2, a further showing of the interrelation between frame 22 and vertical post 10 is seen. There the frame 22 may be seen as at 36 to engage the post 10 at one side and is secured there by conventional means such "Ice as welding. In this view, also, the configuration of the front member or projection of platform 32 may be seen at 38 curving around the front of frame 22.

Still in FIGURE 2, U-brace 24 may be seen to slant rearwardly from the front of podium frame 22 to a point spaced back from the free ends of the forwardly extending legs 12 and 14. Leg 12 is the exact counterpart of leg 14 on the opposite side and accordingly it extends forward from the U-brace in a similar manner.

It will be seenthat at least one rear leg 40 terminating in a free end carrying a glide 42 does not radiate as far from the vertical post 10 as do the forward reaching legs. Accordingly, it can be said that this assembly has a substantially forward stance with respect to vertical post 10.

It will be noted in both FIGURES 1 and 2 at 44 that the brace 24 comes very close to the supporting surface 20 which might be referred to as a plane defined by the free ends of the legs or the lowest reaches of the supporting members for the chair podium. This distance should not be more than one-half inch and may reasonably be as little as one-quarter inch. The point of having the brace come down this close to the floor is to limit the amount of flexing that takes place in the legs 12 and 14 when a person stands on podium platform 32. Thus, while legs 12 and 14 may flex sufficiently to allow brace 24 to contact the supporting surface 20 as shown in FIG- URE 3, the rigidity of brace 24 stops further flexing and thereby assures that legs 12 and 14 will not be flexed beyond their elastic limits. As the result, when weight suflicient to flex the legs 12 and 14 as shown in FIGURE 3 is removed from platform 32, the legs again raise the brace off the floor surface. With only the glides touching the floor, the podium chair can be easily slid from one place to another with little effort. A weight on platform 32 sufficient to flex the legs as shown in FIGURE 3, however, brings brace 24 into contact with supporting surface. Under these conditions, the podium chair remains substantially immovable. Even violent movements of a conductor are unlikely to cause the podium chair to slide or move when brace 24 contacts floor 20. The clearance between the floor surface and the bottom of the brace 24 may be varied depending on how resilient legs 12 and 14 are, but to avoid excessive downward movement and the attendant feeling of insecurity that it may give a user, brace 24 should extend to within a half inch of the floor surface and preferably within a quarter of an inch.

By means of thus combining a podium with a chair, the usual hazards of placing a chair on even a fairly large podium are avoided. Similarly, the necessity to get down from the usual elevated practice chair and step on to a podium to provide a restful change in position is unnecessary. In using this combination podium chair, a conductor may sit for a time and suddenly stand for emphasis or merely to change his position to minimize the muscle fatigue that results from staying in any one position for an extended period.

Furthermore, podium platform 32, when the chair is being used merely as a practice chair, provides a more restful place to support the feet than the usual ring type of foot support over which the heels are hooked. As a result of all of these features, the combination podium chair is a very satisfactory conductors practice chair and considerably more desirable than any combination of ordinary practice chairs and podiums that can be Worked out.

In addition, this chair has proved valuable in other areas. For example, many draftsmen sit on elevated chairs to work at drafting tables. Occasionally, however, it is necessary for them to reach elements that are spaced at the far edges of their drafting boards, and it has been necessary herebefore for the draftsman to step down off his chair in order to do this. Using a combination podium and chair such as offered herein, however, makes it possible for him to stand up on podium platform 32 to reach the upper edges of the largest drafting board. It has also been thought of as a lecture chair which would provide elevation and better observation for one lecturing without the necessity for standing. The lectern may be provided either independently or incorporated with the unit if desired.

It is apparent that many modifications and variations of this invention as hereinbefore set forth may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. The specific embodiments described are given by way of example only and the invention is limited only by the terms of the appended claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A podium chair comprising, a vertical post, legs secured to and radiating from said vertical post, at an acute angle to the horizontal, some of said radiating legs being longer than others, frame means comprised of a substantially unyielding endless member engaging and secured to said vertical post at one side and extending therefrom horizontally above two of said longer radially extending legs, a U-shaped brace secured at its upper end to said endless member and extending therefrom down and between said two longer radially extending legs and to within one-half inch of the plane defined by the bottoms of said radially extending legs, a platform member of sheet metal having edge portions shaped to conform, at least in part, to the cross-section of said endless member to which said platform member is secured and a chair seat and back assembly secured to the top of said vertical post.

2. The structure of claim 1 in which said radiating legs are resilient and terminate in floor engaging glides, and means secured to said longer radiating legs and extending toward the plane defined by said floor engaging glides to limit flexing of said longer radiating legs to an amount within the elastic limits of the material from which said longer radiating legs are made.

3. A podium chair comprising a vertical post, leg means secured to the lower end section of the post and radiating therefrom, said leg means including two resilient adjacent long legs having a radial length greater than the remainder of the legs, floor engaging glides secured to the terminal ends of said leg means, frame means including a substantially unyielding endless member secured at one side thereof to said vertical post above said leg means, said endless member projected horizontally from the post and positioned above said long legs and a U-shaped brace secured at its upper end to said endless member and secured at its lower end to said long legs, said U-shaped brace extended downwardly from the endless member and between said long legs, the base of said U-shaped brace spaced within one-half inch of the horizontal plane defined by said floor engaging glides to limit flexing of said long legs to an amount within the elastic limit of the material from which said long legs are made, a horizontal platform of sheet metal secured to the endless member, said platform having edge portions shaped to conform, at least in part, to the cross-section of said endless member, and a chair seat and back assembly secured to the top section of said vertical post.

4. A podium chair having a seat, back and support structure, wherein said support structure comprises: a seat and back support post secured to the seat; a plurality of legs secured to and extending radially from said support post, the front legs of said plurality of legs to extend forwardly a substantial distance andat an acuteangle relative to the horizontal; a podium platformrigidly secured to the front of said support post; a brace secured to and depending from said podium platform, said brace being secured to and between adjacent front legs of said plurality of legs at a point spaced inwardly from the ends of the front legs, said brace to be below the front legs within one-half inch of the plane defined by the lowest points of said chair support structure; and, a glide secured to the end of each of said plurality of legs for engaging the supporting surface.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,573,980 2/1926 Liptay 297-438 1,946,856 2/1934 Houston 248-1887 2,218,583 10/1940 Marthaler 248-1887 2,308,358 1/1943 Cramer 297-437 2,439,869 4/1948 Sharp 297-437 2,976,911 3/1961 Barker 297-423 3,016,974 1/ 1962 Hamilton 297-451 3,139,306 6/1964 Jennings et al 297-423 3,164,347 1/1965 McMasters 248-1881 FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner. 

1. A PODIUM CHAIR COMPRISING, A VERTICAL POST, LEGS, SECURED TO AND RADIATING FROM SAID VERTICAL POST, AT AN ACUTE ANGLE TO THE HORIZONTAL, SOME OF SAID RADIATING LEGS BEING LONGER THAN OTHERS, FRAME MEANS COMPRISED OF A SUBSTANTIALLY UNYIELDING ENDLESS MEMBER ENGAGING AND SECURED TO SAID VERTICAL POST AT ONE SIDE AND EXTENDING THEREFROM HORIZONTALLY ABOVE TWO OF SAID LONGER RADIALLY EXTENDING LEGS, A U-SHAPED BRACE SECURED AT ITS UPPER END TO SAID ENDLESS MEMBER AND EXTENDING THEREFROM DOWN AND BETWEEN SAID TWO LONGER RADIALLY EXTENDING LEGS AND TO WITHIN ONE-HALF INCH OF THE PLANE DEFINED BY THE BOTTOMS OF SAID RADIALLY EXTENDING LEGS, A PLATFORM MEMBER OF SHEET METAL HAVING EDGE PORTIONS SHAPED TO CONFORM, AT LEAST IN PART, TO THE CROSS-SECTION OF SAID ENDLESS MEMBER TO WHICH SAID PLATFORM MEMBER IS SECURED AND A CHAIR SEAT AND BACK ASSEMBLY SECURED TO THE TOP OF SAID VERTICAL POST. 